Bi-Lingual Resources for Tax Prep and Affordable Housing

The Teton County Library is offering free income tax preparation service to the community in partnership with the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program every Wednesday from January 31st to April 11th. In addition to this service, bi-lingual resources for Affordable Housing will be available at the Library during these times.

As announced earlier this year, the Affordable Housing Department released an online intake form that must be completed by any prospective affordable homeowner or renter in order to be eligible to enter a lottery for a restricted home (the form can be accessed here). In an effort to reach as many members of the community as possible, information about completing the housing intake form online and Spanish forms and will be available during the free tax preparation sessions every Wednesday.

“Affordable housing is a need in our community that cuts across all demographic and cultural lines, and it’s very important to our Department to continually work on our engagement and outreach strategies in order to provide service equitably,” said April Norton, Director of the Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing Department.

As part of this strategy, the Housing Intake Form has been translated into Spanish. English and Spanish summaries of Landlord/Tenant Resources have been created and will be available at the free tax preparation sessions, as well as online. In March, the Library will be providing Spanish language classes on acquiring an email address in order to access community services, such as completing the Housing Intake Form and enrolling children in camps and programs.

“Combining the free tax preparation services and other library programs with accessible information related to affordable housing for English and Spanish-speakers is an efficient way to leverage both the Library’s and the Affordable Housing Department’s resources,” said Isabel Zumel, Assistant Director of Library Services. “We’re committed to working together to provide better services to all members of our community.”